Something unusual has come out of the police department’s 2008 sting operation, which caught many local establishments serving an undercover (and underage) agent.

Officer Steven Maher, a liaison to the licensing authority, told members this week that some owners have been running internal “stings” of their own, and that some have even discussed “stinging” each other. Using this method, owners can find the chinks in their ID-checking armor without suffering a town-imposed penalty.

The identities of the owners involved in this practice were not mentioned at this week’s licensing board meeting. Maher and Lt. Jo Ellen Jason had not returned calls for comment by press time.